Tag: secondary

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Reading: Worth the Fight

We’re just over a week into the new school year, and one of my kids has already pushed back over required reading time. For the past several years, his teachers have set a required time for reading every night, ranging from 20-30 minutes. As an avid reader and former teacher, I’ve obviously been on board with these daily reading requirements. It’s a no-brainer for me. 

This year, however, his teacher won’t be assigning a specific amount of time or number of pages to read each night. Instead, students have a chart on their school computers where they can log any minutes they read, though it’s not a requirement or an assignment. Naturally, my son took that to mean, “I can read for even just one minute and put that in my log!” Fourth graders, right?! You can imagine his dismay when I told him that even though his teacher wasn’t going to assign reading time, my husband and I were. Despite his nightly protests, we have held strong to this boundary, and most nights, after his 30 minutes are up, he asks if he can read just a little bit more— and who am I to say no to that?!

You might wonder why I choose to pick this battle. After all, it would be much easier to give up the fight and not have to listen to the whining and protesting every night. I’d probably even gain “cool mom” status with my son if I didn’t have him read. But honestly, I am not out to win “cool mom” status, and pushing through the whining is 100% worth it to me. 

You see, I’ve encountered so many teenagers who struggle to read. Kids who really are very smart and capable, but just are not where they “should” be in regards to reading. Kids who are terrified to read out loud in front of their peers because they are not confident in their reading abilities. One way to combat this is to have kids read regularly— even a short 15 minutes a day can make a world of a difference in reading ability. 

Reading goes so far beyond opening a book and following along. It opens doorways to many other skills! Reading increases vocabulary, improves writing skills, boosts confidence, encourages imagination, and increases knowledge, among other benefits. Reading is a life long skill. I know not everyone will continue to pick up a novel and read as adults, but the foundational skills gained through reading in the younger years are vital. Even on days I don’t pick up a book to read for fun, I am still reading things all day long— a menu at a restaurant, a recipe as I cook dinner, the labels on food at the store, road signs, texts, social media posts, and so on. The ability to read is one that cannot be put on the back burner. 

In order for young kids to become better readers, they must keep reading. If someone wanted to be a better football player, they would continue to play football. The same goes for reading. It is simply a skill that must not be ignored. I might even go as far as to say that reading is one of the most important skills that can be learned. It is, after all, something that is used in every other subject they will learn. It is a skill that they will use no matter what career path they use. 

So the next time your child or one of your students complains about reading time, remind them that you are actually helping them— Helping them become better readers, writers, thinkers, and doers, because reading is the key to opening doors to the future.

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Goals Aren’t Just for the New Year

3….2….1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there. It’s August, not January. 

You know the routine: a new year comes, and you excitedly set some goals or resolutions for yourself, only to have that excitement and motivation die out by February. I know I can’t be the only one who is guilty of this pattern. 

Now, I know that it’s August, and most people aren’t even thinking about their goals for next year quite yet, but hear me out. What if, as teachers, we encouraged our students to set a goal for this new school year? A _______ Grade Resolution, if you will (you fill in the blank with whatever grade you teach). What if we take the time to teach our students how to set a goal, plan an appropriate attack strategy, and execute said plan so that they can see how powerful goal setting can be? What if our students gained more confidence in themselves and reached goals they didn’t think they could? What if? 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a lot to lose here. Even if the goal isn’t reached, think about all that would be gained by trying! Confidence? Determination? Planning skills? I know I wouldn’t be mad if I made improvements in all of those areas! 

Before you go forward with this, let’s remind ourselves about effective goal setting. It isn’t super beneficial to simply say you want to achieve something; you need a plan of action on how you are going to achieve that something. The goal needs to be realistic, progress needs to be measurable, and there need to be some parameters established. Essentially, the intended end result should be planned out in SMART goal style, with the goal being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. If students can plan a goal with these five areas in mind, their overall success will be much greater. 

Most of us teachers know what a SMART goal might look like in relation to our jobs, but what might a SMART goal look like for a fourth grader? Let’s look at an example and see what each step might involve.

SMART Goal: I will improve my reading level by two levels by the end of the school year.

Now, let’s break this goal apart by looking at each of the five areas:

S: Specific. This means that the goal is detailed, the parameters are clear, and there isn’t any confusion about what is to be achieved. In this example, this student wants to improve their reading level by a certain amount by a specific date.

M: Measurable. A solid goal is one that can be tracked or measured. You can create data of some kind to see where you started and where you end up. In this case, the goal is to increase reading level by two levels. This is an easily measured goal, as progress can be monitored, recorded, and charted. 

A: Attainable. When setting a goal, you need to be realistic. It would not be beneficial to set a goal that is so far out of reach, there is no possible way it can be achieved within the time frame you set. Using our example, if this student had said that they wanted to be reading on a college level by the end of fourth grade, it might not be super attainable. However, setting a goal to improve by two reading levels is going to be reached much easier. 

R: Relevant. A goal needs to be relevant to the person or situation. If setting a goal to exercise more, you wouldn’t want to include anything about increasing your reading level. The goal needs to make sense for the time, place, and person. In our example, it makes sense that fourth grade student would be setting a reading goal to improve their reading skills, because that is something that would be worked on in that area and at that time. 

T: Time-bound. Good goals need to have time limits. Obviously, it behooves all people to continually improve, but if a goal is to be measured and tracked, setting time limitations is helpful. In the example above, the student sets a time by which they want to have their goal achieved— the end of the school year. Having a clear end date can help the goal setter to plan accordingly. If they achieve the goal before the end date, great! If they need the full time they have decided upon, great! Setting a schedule can help motivate the person to continue working toward their goal, and to take steps along the way to push them toward their end goal. 

Having students create and plan their own SMART goals is a great way to start the new school year. It will give the students something to work toward and look forward to. Goals give a sense of purpose and direction. You might consider creating an outline of some kind for students to follow as they create their goals. Have them do regular check-ins regarding the progress they are making. Track that progress so that they can see that their work is paying off and really is moving them toward their desired end result. 

When they reach the end of their set time frame, have them evaluate themselves— did they achieve their goal? What kind of, if any, set backs did they encounter? If they didn’t make it to their goal, why? What kind of progress did they make? What did they learn along the way? 

Celebrate their efforts, and encourage them to continue setting and working toward goals. Perhaps you might even consider setting a class-wide SMART goal that you can all work toward together, fostering class unity and purpose. However you do it, consider incorporating SMART goal setting in your curriculum! Goal setting is a great life skill to have, and knowing how to properly set and achieve a goal will give students an advantage as they get older.

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Dear Teacher: An Introductory Assignment

My last post was full of ice breaker and getting to know you ideas that involved the entire class. Today I wanted to share another idea for getting to know your students, but this one is done individually, and as a homework assignment.

Because I was an English teacher, this assignment worked particularly well for my class, but it can work just as well for any other content area. The assignment was called “Dear Teacher” and was a chance for students to write a letter to me. I gave them suggestions about what they could tell me, but also left it open for them to choose the content of their letter. 

Some of the suggested topics included:

  • Favorite food
  • Favorite subject
  • Favorite music, movie, book, actor/actress, show
  • Family— how many siblings, things they like to do, etc.
  • Friends— who their friends are, what they like to do together, etc.
  • Favorite vacations they’ve been on
  • Things they did over the summer
  • What they’re looking forward to about this new school year
  • Goals they may have
  • Their feelings about reading & writing (or whatever your content area may be)
  • Anything else they felt like telling me

I also required the assignment to be hand written (this gave me a glimpse into their grammar and spelling skills since they weren’t using a computer with spell/grammar check), and required the length to be about 1- 1.5 pages long. I wanted it long enough for them to tell me about themselves, but not so long that I was reading these letters for the rest of my days!

This assignment was always so fun to get back from students. I loved learning about them! Beyond the “getting to know you” objective of the assignment, these letters also gave me insight into their writing style, grammar/spelling skills, handwriting, and personalities. Another thing I really liked about this assignment was that, because I had assured them I wasn’t going to be sharing their letters with other students, it allowed students to be completely honest and open. I had students open up and tell me about difficulties at home, friend struggles, learning struggles, and so on. It let them know right off the bat that I was a safe person who had their best interests in mind. 

The “Dear Teacher” letter was always just a participation grade, which was a great way to start off the year. It was a low-stakes, no pressure assignment to ease them into graded writing that would come later. 

So while this assignment was really quite simple, it accomplished much more than surface level formalities. 

What kind of assignments do you give your students to start the year?

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Breakin’ That Ice

First day of school nerves are real for teachers and students alike. I used to tell my students that it was ok to feel nervous— everyone else felt the same way, even if they wouldn’t admit it. I would venture to guess that even most teachers feel some degree of first day of school jitters. 

One way to combat these jitters is through ice-breaker and getting to know you activities. Most people don’t love them, but they are effective for getting people moving around and interacting with one another. And if there’s one thing you need on the first day of school, it’s to get people interacting and getting to know each other!

Perhaps you have a tried and true ice breaker that you’ve used every year for the last 25 years. If it works, it works— no need to fix what isn’t broken, right? If, however, you’re searching for something new to try, I’ve got you covered! I’ve compiled a list of fun ideas to break the ice and get to know your students, and to have them get to know each other! 

Roll & Tell

Divide students into groups of 3-4. Give each group a die and a set of instructions. Each number on the die is attached to a getting to know you question. If a student rolls a 4, they would answer the prompt assigned to number 4, and so on. Once all students in the group have answered all the questions, you can come back together as a class. Call on students randomly to have them share something they learned about someone in their group. 

Possible Questions:

  • What is your favorite subject in school?
  • What is your favorite restaurant?
  • When you have free time, what do you like to do?
  • If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
  • What is your family like? Do you have siblings?
  • Tell about the craziest thing that has ever happened to you.
  • What was the highlight of your summer?
  • If you could invent any holiday, what would it be and why?
  • What goals do you have for this school year?
  • What do you want to be when you grow up?
  • What is your least favorite chore to do?
  • What is your favorite book?
  • What skill would you most like to learn?
  • Do you collect anything?
  • What is one cool fact about you that not many people know?
  • If you could choose a super power, what would you want to be able to do?
  • If you could go to lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
  • Would you rather be able to visit the past or the future?

One Word

Group students into small groups— 4-5 students per group is perfect. Give each group a starting word. Groups must then create a sentence, one word at a time, by going around the circle with each student adding on a word to the sentence when it is their turn. It must make sense, must be a real word, and must be a word that is well known. You can extend this activity by having groups pass around a paper to write on. They can create a whole story, one word at a time, as a group. 

This encourages groups to work together, students to listen carefully, and students to be patient with one another. Hilarity is sure to ensue as groups come up with some silly sentences and stories! 

Beach Ball Toss

Inflate a plastic beach ball, then use a permanent marker to write several getting to know you questions all over the ball. Have students form a circle and toss the ball around. When the ball is caught, the catcher answers the question that their right thumb is on, then throws the ball to someone else, and so on. Continue until everyone has had a chance to answer at least one question.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

This game is just as it sounds! Divide the class into two groups, and have students line up in two lines, facing each other. Partners will play three rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and the best of three wins. One line will stay stationary, and the other line will move to the right or left (you choose!), and play continues. 

Random Objects

This is a fun one to assign on the first day of school, especially for older grades. For their first assignment, have students bring a random object from home— the more random, the better. They must keep the object hidden until it is their turn to share. Put a table in the center of the room and have students form a circle around the table. One by one, each student comes forward and places their object on the table. The fun part of this is that they cannot talk— no explaining what the object is or why they chose it. Laughter is definitely okay, because there are sure to be some hilarious objects brought. 

Be sure to set guidelines of what is and is not okay to bring to school.

Four Corners

Before class starts, take four pieces of paper and write the numbers 1-4 separately on a paper. Place each paper in a different corner of the room. Prepare a list of questions with four possible answers each. After each question and its answers are read, students must pick which answer they like the most then move to that corner of the room. Continue until all questions have been read. 

Ex: What is your favorite subject?

1- Math
2- English/Writing/Reading
3- PE
4- Science

Students who enjoy math the most would move to the corner that has the “1” sign, and so on.

Would you Rather

This is a classic game that everyone can participate in. Prepare a list of “would you rather” questions that are appropriate for the age of your students. The questions can be about anything; it’s fun to mix up the type of questions to include some funny, some serious, some gross (kids love these ones!), and some ridiculous. Have students show their answers by holding up a green paper for answer A, and a blue paper for answer B. If you can’t think of any questions on your own, the Internet is full of lists upon lists of great questions for all ages, occasions, and topics.

This or That Circle Game

You may need a larger space for this game. Create two large intersecting circles on the floor—  tape works really well for this. Make a list of several “this or that” questions. Read each question, then have students pick circle A or B according to which option they like best. If they like both options equally, they can stand in the intersecting portion of the circles. You’re essentially making a large Venn diagram! Continue until all questions have been read. The questions don’t have to be super deep— simple works best here. Things like “chocolate or vanilla” or “Summer or Winter” work really well for this game. Again, if you need some help coming up with questions to use, a quick Google or Pinterest search will provide you with plenty of options!

These are just a few ideas of the many that are out there. Activities like these are a great way to ease back to school jitters and bring your class together. Happy Back to School, friends!

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A Letter to Students

Dear Students,

I’ve been in your shoes before, so I get it. The back-to-school nerves are real. The thoughts are swirling around in your mind like a tornado: what is my teacher like? Will any of my friends be in my class? Where will I sit in the classroom? Is my teacher going to like me? What if I don’t understand the stuff I’m learning? It’s a lot, and it can feel so overwhelming! But you know what? I know that you can do it! I know you can be successful and brave and tough. I know this because you’ve done it before— you did it last school year, and that turned out ok, so I know you can do it again. 

You’re amazing and capable of incredible things! If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a few suggestions for setting yourself up for success. 

First, be patient. With yourself, your teacher, and your classmates. Everyone learns at their own pace, and that’s ok! I know you’d want people to be patient with you, so it’s nice to offer that same patience to everyone else.

Second, keep trying! We don’t always succeed the first time we try something new. Keep pushing, keep trying, and don’t give up! Ask for help if you need it, and don’t be afraid to try new things. You will learn so much as you keep trying!

Third, be kind. Our world could use more kindness, so do your part to make that happen. Even if someone is unkind to you, do your best to be nice to them. Say hi, offer to help, give a compliment, smile, or hold the door open. Being kind doesn’t cost anything, and it doesn’t hurt you to be kind. In fact, I bet you’ll feel happier if you are kind, and the people who you are nice to will feel happier, too! Everyone wins! Don’t worry so much about being the cool kid, the best dressed kid, or the fastest reader in your class. Be the kind kid. Be the kid that cares. 

Fourth, don’t forget to have fun! Life is too short to spend it being grumpy. Laugh with your friends, be silly sometimes, and do the things that make you happy. Take time to do something fun every day.

Lastly, try to stay positive. When things get difficult, do your best to look for the good things that are happening around you. If you do this, it will help you see that life isn’t all that bad afterall! At the end of each day, think about all the good things that happened to you— it will help you notice the happy parts of the day and will boost your mood. 

I know that not every day is going to be fantastic, but I do know that you will make it through. You’ve got lots of people cheering you on, and lots of people who will help you along the way. Believe in yourself, and do your best. You’ve got this!!

Sincerely, 

Someone who believes in you

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Bullying: An Epidemic

One of the jobs of a teacher is to make their classroom a safe place for all students— a place where kids can come and feel like they belong, matter, and are heard. Most teachers I know of do a pretty good job at that, or at least trying their best to do so. Unfortunately, there are some kids who are pretty good at taking a safe place and making it feel not so safe by being a bully. And, equally as unfortunate, these kids are usually sneaky in their ways, often getting away with their behaviors until a situation becomes more serious. 

Bullying isn’t a new problem— it’s an issue that has been present in schools as long as schools have been around, and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. As teachers, we have the responsibility to keep our eyes and ears open and to intervene any time we become aware of a bullying situation. We cannot turn a blind eye to this problem. 

So what can we do? To start, we can teach kindness and acceptance in our homes to our own children as well as to our students in our classrooms. We can encourage students to talk to a trusted adult when they see or hear bullying behaviors or when they are the victim of those behaviors. We can make our selves more aware of what is going on around us. Getting to know our students helps in several ways— it creates a relationship of trust and also can help us notice if something seems “off” or different. We need to be active listeners, doers, and watchers within the walls of our classrooms and our schools. 

If we do become aware of a problem, we can involve administration if needed. Beyond discipline, most admins will be willing to come into your classroom and talk about bullying and the problems it can cause— and the consequences that may result. 

Last school year, my second grader came home one day and told us that a classmate had been mean to him verbally and physically. We talked through the situation and discussed how he can handle it if it happened again. Unfortunately, it did continue happening. My son said he had told the recess aid whenever it would happen, but nothing changed. At this point, I emailed his teacher and explained what had been happening. I was so impressed with how she handled it; it was immediate and firm. She set up new class guidelines and made sure her students knew that she would not tolerate any kind of mean behavior in her classroom. She let them know that if she heard or saw anything happening, there would be immediate consequences and that the principal would become involved. She instituted a kindness challenge where students were given a grid of kind things to do for others. Once they had completed all the tasks on the grid, they could bring their paper back for a prize. Not only did she address the issue of bullying, she went a step further and encouraged all her students to be kinder and more patient with one another. Thankfully the problems my son was experiencing stopped, and the rest of the school year was just fine.

I know not all bullying situations are resolved as quickly and easily as my son’s was. I know for some students, it goes on for weeks, months, or even years, slowly eating away at the victim’s mental health and self esteem. It takes a toll. 

Cyber bullying is becoming more prevalent as technology continues to evolve. Kids (and sadly, even adults) can hide behind a screen and target individuals. Information spreads quickly via the internet, and can be done without the victim ever knowing who the bully is. This kind of bullying is dangerous and scary. It is also cowardly, as the bully doesn’t even have to come face to face with their targets. They can hide in the comfort of their own homes while slowly destroying someone else’s life. 

I don’t know that there are any easy or sure fire solutions to this epidemic happening in our schools. But I do know that we as teachers can make a difference by being alert, attentive, and aware of what is happening around us. We can be proactive by teaching and encouraging kindness. We can be assertive when we notice something happening and get those involved the help they need. While we may not be able to rid the world of bullying, we can certainly start a change within our own classrooms.

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Get to Know Your Children’s Teachers!

It’s wild to think that a new school year will be starting soon. Some have already started their new year! With the new year comes new teacher assignments, and a great opportunity to get to know those teachers! 

As a teacher, I always appreciated when parents or students took the time to think of me— it was so nice to be acknowledged! Now, as a parent, I do my best to let my kids’ teachers know that I appreciate them and their hard work. Rather than just picking a random treat at the grocery store, I always like to know exactly what they like. I also like to make sure I get something they like, want, or need to avoid food allergies or purchasing something they don’t have use for. 

When we go to back to school night, I often will take a little “welcome back to school” gift— a can of cleaning wipes, box of tissues, or something similar with a “getting to know you” survey attached. The survey can be filled out at the teacher’s convenience then sent home with your child. 

I thought I’d share the survey I give to teachers so you can get to know the wonderful people who will be teaching your kids this coming year! Just click on the “Download” button below and print off a copy of the survey. I’ve included both a color and a black and white option to fit all printing needs. 

**Printable is free, but please do not sell, re-post, or claim as your own.**

All About My TeacherDownload